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Mesa to upgrade cameras on solid-waste trucks, citing AI safety alerts and cloud access
Summary
Solid Waste Director Sher Collins told council the city wants to replace 6–10-year-old truck cameras with cloud-connected, AI-enabled systems that provide pedestrian warnings, higher-definition footage and remote retrieval; staff said the upgrade would increase annual subscription costs by under $30,000 over the current $120,000 contract.
Sher Collins, Mesa’s solid waste director, proposed replacing the department’s aging external truck cameras with a cloud-based, AI-enabled system intended to improve pedestrian warnings, blind-spot detection and incident investigations. Collins told the council the existing cameras are six to 10 years old and that the new units provide high-definition video, remote retrieval from a desktop and continuous software updates.
Collins said each truck currently carries five to seven cameras depending on the vehicle type and that the upgraded system will add in-cab driver screens showing camera angles and real-time pedestrian alerts. “When we turned on the audible alarms in the cab, the amount of alerts that we got reduced by 50%,” Collins said, describing early results that the department expects will translate into safer driving behavior and fewer incidents to investigate.
Council members pressed staff on whether the city has run incident analyses and how alerts will be used. Collins said the city is working with the Office of Innovation and Efficiency to produce analytics and that an in-house safety coordinator and technician will use alert data to target one-on-one or group training for drivers.
On cost, Collins said the city currently leases a system called Brigade for about $120,000 per year and that the proposed solution would increase recurring subscription costs by a little under $30,000 annually; the city’s solid-waste fleet counts 123 vehicles. Collins emphasized the value of cloud-based remote retrieval, saying the old system required hard-drive removal and special laptops for downloads.
Council members also raised liability and litigation concerns, noting that one avoidable accident could produce costs far greater than the subscription price. Staff said better footage, remote access and AI safety tools are intended to reduce risk, improve evidence for incident investigations and speed training cycles.
No formal procurement action was taken during the study session; council members asked staff to return with analyses and reports that quantify incidents before and after full implementation.
